Jutsu: Physics and Metaphysics
by necro-wulf
Summary: A technical description of the physics, method, quirks and spirital nature of various jutsu used in the Naruto Universe. Will take requests for future installments. Latest chapter: Naruto's Shapeshifting
1. Rasengan, Rasenshuriken

The author makes no claim to any of the original intellectual property associated with the Naruto universe, but humbly seeks to add to the appreciation of the application of physics within this and other premises for alternate forms of reality be they mystical, scientific, or any combination thereof.

**The Rasengan:**

**A frank and honest analysis of the physics underlying the technique and its current variations.**

---

_To begin it should be noted that Naruto Uzumaki, in his own awkward cobbled together way, has performed the Grand spiral technique at a level of mastery without peer. No one was ever as good with the Rasengan as he was, period. Not Jiraiya. Not the Yodaime Hokage. He was it. Only he could even begin to use the wind release variations, and he needed help from his clones._

_This was because the Rasengan was such a difficult technique to master. The first stage is simple enough; all you do is pour chakra into a balloon, then use it to spin the water until it pops. Naruto, instead of learning the control needed to do this strait, had instead decided to generate the necessary turbulence with his unused hand as an expedient, moving it rapidly and randomly around the outside to generate turbulence. And it worked._

_The second step was to ramp up the power until you could pop a rubber ball. This requires you concentrate to the point of nearly shredding you chakra coils until you become properly conditioned, and with Naruto's control was all but impossible. By concentrating all of the energy his body could muster upon a single point in his palm, he was ably to get the proper concentration of chakra within the spiral to burst the ball. If used on someone, this would cause middling serious surface damage but nothing that would cripple or kill._

_The third and final step required the creation of a sphere of chakra to contain the turbulent spinning force of the attack. This he did by using his own hand to stabilize the energy, and the clone's two to push it to speed and contain it. When you slammed this completed Rasengan it into someone, their organs got feng shui'd and they were hurled through the air as all the kinetic energy of the spiral was released inside of the body. It was almost always a knock out punch, if not fatal. And that was in a nutshell, the Rasengan as Naruto learned it._

_But the technique got exponentially harder from there as you tried to add an elemental affinity._

_First, of coarse, you actually had to be able to use the nameless, instinctive jutsu that don't require hand seals. Techniques that were never farther away than the earth, air, or water, or else could be generated from the user's body directly. Learning to use his air affinity was a major pain in the ass, simply because he had never done a jutsu higher than academy level stuff without hand seals except for the kage bushin. That and the fact that he never knew that he had an elemental affinity before._

_Wind wasn't an easy one either. Of all the elemental affinities it was the only one to require such a high level of technical skill. It broke down like this: most elemental techniques were either an ignition of a natural process like fire and lightning using chakra, or else they used chakra to bind matter together to form great honking objects to attack someone with, like water and earth jutsu._

_Wind jutsu however, are a mix. It was possible to use chakra to bind air molecules together loosely to create huge gusts, but not terribly profitable as a whole as getting enough power to do physical damage is difficult. Where the wind jutsu come into their own is by using chakra to create blades. _

_Basically, that consists of pouring energy into the air, then splitting the air into two masses of gas. After that, you accelerate them into each other at high speed on a molecular level, usually while each mass draws in more air from the environment to sustain itself. Between the chakra, the kinetic energy and the friction, the air particles create a very thin, very high-energy patch of air. The air particles being pressed together between the two masses of air are so energetic they'll slice right through molecular bonds without slowing down. It's completely unblockable unless you know the proper chakra techniques. All you have to do is generate the effect in a given direction and you have an attack that flies through the air. There are exceptions and elaborations to these basics, but that's the groundwork._

_As if that wasn't difficult enough by itself, the Rasengan has dubious compatibility with wind jutsu. On the surface, they seem fine. Both use air as a medium, both use high-energy air particles to do their job. The Rasengan even looks like a whirlwind. But the Rasengan requires a single unified chaotic energy storm and a confining wall. Wind techniques by definition require at least basic organization and open space to act as an outlet for the techniques, as they could only be sustained with constant airflow._

_After god knows how many hours of practice, he finally got enough control over both source techniques to mix them. Judging by the effects observed this is my interpretation of how. Taking the Rasengan as a template, he then tried the first any way he could think of to throw wind effects into it._

_Eventually I believe he came across the idea to create two exactly similar Rasengan(s) over top of one another. By creating two, then aligning each stream of chakra so that it impacts its counterpart and generates a wind-blade effect, when it impacts the target it would release all of the knives inside of what it hits. By then modifying the shell so that on impact it reflexes upon the person it hits, you effectively trap the person within a hurricane in glass factory._

_The "shuriken" effect was in my observation, either an embellishment or a side effect. The degree of damage caused to Naruto by errant blades that escaped confinement suggests the latter. If that is the case, it is most likely caused by air molecules within the spiral's center expanding due to their energy level and forcing each other out of the jutsu. They form streams at a point of weakness and the spiraling causes them to form into blades, as the same hole in the underlying technique forms multiples holes in the shell at extremely high speed, much like the formation of volcanic island chains by lava pushing up through the earth's crust as it shifts over a single upward stream over time._

_The technique required another clone because except for the creation of the shell, it was another Rasengan over top of the first. That meant another two hands of work to generate the spiral and give it proper force. Let alone the additional control demands to hold it together and generate the blades._

_The fact that her he has forgone one of the clones is indicative that he is now able to perform a Rasengan single handedly (though that may not be strictly literal). This is mast certainly due to his considerable experience with this high maintenance jutsu._

**I have to remind the reader that little of the technical information provided is courtesy of the original material, having been obtained from various fanfictions and Internet references. As such all conclusions are subject to reexamination and should be considered as a hypothesis at best. I beg you indulgence in this matter, as there seems to be little information to be had on the subject of the mechanics of the techniques discussed that has a reputable source, and even fewer that I am able to access.**

**Thank you for your attention and I hope this exercise has been enlightening and enjoyable**

A/N) Originally composed as a technical addition to Stranger Than Fiction; Ch.5., by the author.

Special thanks to **Tellemicus Sundance **for his work with the Rasengan in general, and the techniques of the Naruto universe as a whole.

Also, with significant response, I will be adding jutsu that are requested, and ones that have peaked my own interest.

These include, but are not limited to:

**Kage Bushin**

**The three basic academy jutsu**

**Sexy Jutsu** (assumes a significant difference from the henge jutsu, as per fanon)

**Elemental Affinities** (in depth, with examples form the anime and notes regarding the use of off-element techniques such as ice, wood, ect.)

**Kagemane**-Shadow posession

**Summoning Technique **(as related to beasts and objets seperately)

**Genjutsu Basics**

**Chidori**

**Byakugan**

**Shiki Fuujin**

**Aburame Symbiosis**

**Shintenshin**-Mind/body switch

**Baika**-Multisize techniques

**Cursed Seal Biomechanics**

**Kugutsu**-Puppertry

**The nature of Bijuu**

**Spiritualism in Naruto**

As well as any further requests, including fan fiction techniques, so long as the source material is sited. However, it should be noted that none of my conclusions are definitive, merely the best hypothesis I was able to draw.


	2. Chakra

The author makes no claim to any of the original intellectual property associated with the Naruto universe, but humbly seeks to add to the appreciation of the application of physics within this and other premises for alternate forms of reality be they mystical, scientific, or any combination thereof.

**Chakra:**

**Where Subatomic Physics and Mysticism Meet.**

_As the second of my humble treaties on the various techniques and abilities found within the Naruto world, I have decided to get back to basics, having got the most sensational (and most thoroughly described) out of the way in the beginning____ To that end the following is a description of chakra, as I am able to interpret it based upon my background knowledge in both the basics of particle physics and eastern religions. As always, none of my conclusions are definite, and all are open to any criticism you may have. In fact, I encourage you to comment so that I might better produce similar installments in the future._

_It should go unsaid that the most basic and significant difference between our own world and that of Naruto is the application of the bio-energy known as chakra. The modified geography, history and sociology of the world are all in essence either rooted in this difference or of significantly less significance in its prescience. Why this energy can be accessed is not discussed in any source material and any speculation has no place in this description. It must simply be taken, as those of that other world take it, as a fact of life._

_To state it in the most basic terms, chakra is the aggregate of the spiritual and physical energy of the user. To put it more concisely; it is the combination of the energy of an individual's soul with pure energy that is derived from the physical fortitude of their bodies. It is first and foremost a biological process that is natural to all animal life, and likely is active within the other life forms of the planet as well._

_The energy of the soul serves primarily in most individuals to channel the energy of the body (locked in calories, muscular strength, pressure points and a multitude of other places) to interact with the world around it. However, it is almost certain that there are individuals who have come to use their spiritual training to directly influence the world. A ready example of the latter can be made of either the art of sealing (based upon Buddhist, Tao, and Shinto spiritualism and exorcisms), and the various spirit manipulation techniques employed by Orochimaru to control and enslave the sprits of the dead._

_The most substantial thing to be known about chakra is this: it is, at ay given time able to be either a form of energy or a form of matter, depending upon how it is manipulated. Like light, which at the subatomic level can act as a particle and impact and atom to transfer energy, or as a wave that passes through transparent materials, chakra is able to shift between the two forms contextually. This fact is what has lead to its multitude applications. _

_An example of the diversity can be found in the many derivatives found from one of the most basic ninjutsu techniques: the clone technique. The most basic of this family, the clone technique is simple to the point of being a qualifier for even the most talentless shinobi. All that the technique requires is the ability to create the image of the user within an opponent's mind, a task made all the simpler in a world where both you and your opponent are both likely to have some psionic ability. _

_The next most difficult of the family of jutsu to perform would have to be the elemental clones, which require the user to gather and shape surrounding materials (ones that correspond to basic elemental forces of nature), and shape them into a human form using a matrix of chakra (the process of elemental manipulation will be gone into in depth later). Then it is only a matter of disguising them using a variation of either a disguise ore basic clone technique. These copies at able to fight physically and even expend some of the energy composing them to use the elemental abilities of their user within their composing element_

_Of more difficulty to execute, but simpler in concept than the various elemental clones is the shadow clone technique. This jutsu forgoes the elemental component of the previous method, and instead ops to create a construct body, a "shadow", in the form of its user from pure chakra. This would be impossible if not for the ability of chakra to convert itself into a solid particle, or indeed to replicate exactly the body from which they originated with great accuracy, Naruto's clones have even been shown to have chakra coils and have bled in some circumstances before being dispelled to fool opponents._

_Its applications are varied and not entirely understood even by those who use them, however, chakra itself is easily made to fit nearly any role when perceived as the will and strength of the user, combined as one and thrust into the world. Able to create, and manipulate matter, it is a formidable force, but not one without rules to guide it. The thesis and antithesis as one within synthesis; heaven and earth; physical and metaphysical; matter and energy, it is a product of all of these opposites, but firmly none of them._

_I look forward to any requests or questions you may have and encourage you to contact me, as always. _


	3. The Basic Three

The author makes no claim to any of the original intellectual property associated with the Naruto universe, but humbly seeks to add to the appreciation of the application of physics within this and other premises for alternate forms of reality be they mystical, scientific, or any combination thereof.

**The Basic Three Techniques:**

**The backbone of Ninjutsu**

_In this installment, I will be addressing the most basic of Ninjutsu, the three basic techniques which are required, almost universally to even consider the ability of students to learn the shinobi arts._

_These are: _

_The __disguise technique__ or __henge no jutsu_

_The __clone technique__ or __bushin no jutsu_

_The __substitution technique__ or __kawarimi no jutsu_

_I will discuss each of these in turn, and hopefully answer any questions you may have._

_The most simplistic of the three jutsu is the henge. The reason that this is the most basic of the basic techniques is that it is required to act only upon the user, and that it is at the heart of the other two abilities. The henge technique is basically a method for using chakra to alter the user's appearance to look like someone else, and this ability to alter perception is integral to the execution of the others._

_The henge no jutsu is almost certainly genjutsu, using chakra to overlay the perception of one appearance upon the mind of those surrounding the user at such a basic level that it is nearly impossible to see through, though easily sensed if there is a sufficient gap in the experience levels of the user and viewer. Indeed, the most common method of breaking the jutsu is to shatter the user's concentration with physical harm. It in no way altars the physical form of the user, only the image you perceive. _

_However, there is evidence that Naruto Uzumaki either never learned the henge properly or later cobbled together another method of changing his appearance, which he would use in his sexy jutsu and several combat techniques. These will be the topic of discussion in the next chapter._

_The second in technique in ninja basic training is the clone jutsu. This jutsu creates multiple images of the user to distract and mislead the opponent, but lacks any physical presence. Instead the act as a smoke screen, ideally enabling the user to act unobserved to achieve victory while their opponent is concerned with the clones._

_The bushin, being the most basic offensive genjutsu, functions basically identically to the henge, with a few exceptions. The first is the ability to create multiple clones with the proper concentration, allowing for multiple false angles of attack but each requiring the same level of concentration that went into the henge no jutsu if not slightly more. The second aspect in which this ability differs from its parent technique is that each of the clones is untethered to the user, which is rather the point. This is significant because each clone requires the user to not only shape the outer appearance of a clone, but its pose, movements and location as well. The henge is, more or less like the skin pattern that goes over a wireframe model to create a video game character, with the user serving as the wireframe. The bushin requires the user to add and maintain a "wireframe" to control the pose of the clone, as well as have it react realistically to the world around it, lest it walk through solid objects or otherwise betray itself. All of this makes the bushin no jutsu a technique many learn but few truly master._

_The final of the three basic shinobi arts is, in truth, the only true ninjutsu among them. The kawarimi or substitution technique is in truth, the most basic of all summoning abilities supplemented by the disguise abilities outlined above. In effect it covertly replaces a shinobi with a log or other generally man-sized object within a short distance, switching their locations and then cloaking the object with the appearance of the shinobi. All this is done with the intent of getting the user out of harm's way and into cover, while avoiding detection and attack._

_It is performed in three steps;_

_In the first, the user reaches out with chakra into the surrounding area until it locates an object to switch with, the exact mechanism of which (be it conscious or unconscious) is unknown to me._

_In the second step, the user uses a bridge of chakra between him and the object as a medium to nearly instantly switch their positions. It is for this reason the approximate mass and volume equivalence is important, as other wise excessive chakra drain would result to accommodate the imbalance of the two swapped bodies. The exact method of the switch is unknown, but both dimensional manipulation (as seen in more complex summoning techniques) to generate a small fold in space that reduces the space between the location of the user and the object to nothing and the use of chakra as a "lubricant" that moves the user faster than the human (or shinobi) eye can see out of danger while simultaneously doing the same in reverse to the replacement object._

_The final step is to cover the object with the illusion of the user, so that it will continue to draw fire. This is done by applying the "skin" mentioned above over the "wireframe" of the object. The illusion, like the clone technique, can be made to have movement for a short period of time, assuming that it doesn't have to cover ay distance to better facilitate the transition and cover the moment of the switch._

_And that, dear readers, is a technical explanation of the three most basic jutsu in the ninja world. That fact, I thing displays more than anything the amazing the amazing elegance able to be produced by the shinobi, considering that most of these complicated procedures are done with only a single hand seal. _

As always, I welcome any comments or questions you may have. I fully intend to take all requests made to me, eventually and to also revise any entrees that are incomplete or unclear. If you have anything to say I encourage you to do so. I also would like to thank **Escalus** for his attentions and promise to get to his suggestions in good time, though unfortunately NGE was as much of a confusion for me as many others, with my understanding tainted instead of informed by many of the resulting fanfictions and my never having seen the culmination in the cinematic release, I am relegated to the pages of Wikipedia for my insights, which I recommend if only for the fact that it has information on the psychology and production close at hand.


	4. Shapeshifting

The author makes no claim to any of the original intellectual property associated with the Naruto universe, but humbly seeks t

The author makes no claim to any of the original intellectual property associated with the Naruto universe, but humbly seeks to add to the appreciation of the application of physics within this and other premises for alternate forms of reality be they mystical, scientific, or any combination thereof.

**Shapeshifting:**

**The Fox's Fluke**

_As I stated in the last chapter, there are inconsistencies in the way the one Uzumaki Naruto implements the henge no jutsu compared to other shinobi, including others with considerably more skill than he has. This may be an oversight on the part of the creators of the series, or on that of the characters themselves. Never the less, I believe that this is evidence of a completely different technique. Working under that assumption, I proceeded to philosophize upon what that would mean it was doing, how it was developed, and how it was done. These are my interpretations, and as always I leave them open to you questions and criticisms._

_To understand the sort of negotiable morphology involved her, first we must understand the inspiration of the technique as well as the uses to which it has been put, as these are the only sources of information that have any true value, all personal interpretations including my own being equally valueless._

_The long tradition of animal trickster spirits is continued in eastern mythology, notably those of china and Japan, with the presence of fox spirits, or kitsune in Japanese. While by no means unique, sharing the common elements with both the medieval French folk character Reynard the fox, the Celtic traditions of the fey, and any number of other trickster bush souls, it nonetheless is a uniquely eldritch in its dispositions. Its traits include deviousness tempered by the classical inability to directly lye or break its word, the ability to live for centuries, to use otherworldly flames to lure unsuspecting travelers to their deaths (shades of will'o'the wisps), and most poignantly in this instance to take on human form. The shape they take is often either an old scholar or a beautiful young woman, though they often have trouble hiding their tails in their transformed state. When seen as a female they often seduce men to their doom or, just as often, simply seducing them. There are numerous recountings of the classic "demon wife" tale in which a couple who have been together for years, even raised children, is sundered when the husband betrays a single unbreakable promise to his wife and found her to be a vixen, losing her and his fox-kit children in the bargain and as often as not finding himself starving in the dilapidated buildings frequented by sheltering animals. That said it should be noted that this does lead me to the conclusion that there must be some sort of matter manipulation, as even taking into account the use of illusion to conceal the surroundings and her form, the impossibility of human-canid reproduction has clearly been bypassed somehow. It is merely a postulate on my part that an actual material shift is involved, instead of a significantly more magical explanation. In any case, knowing that Naruto is the vessel containing the Nine Tailed Fox (apparently the only one in his world), it is easy to see where tie inspiration for the Sexy Jutsu came from, both to his creators and the boy himself. It is also possible then, that he was tapping into a latent ability the fox possessed to assume a woman's form, bringing about a physical change alien to the standard Academy ninjutsu it disguised itself as._

_Moving on to the applications Naruto put this method of transformation to, it is necessary to reiterate that the first and most telling example is the __Oiroke no Jutsu, or sexy technique. Before the development of this ability Naruto had almost no compitence for the henge no jutsu, producing in one flash back a distorted copy of the Hokage. After the development of the technique he was able to not immitate but _syntehsize_ the apperaence of a comly young woman based upon gleaned information from peeping at the women's bath an research from girly magazines, but using what he learned to create an appearance based mostly upon himself, down to the coloration and the wisker marks._

Leaving aside the Freudian implications, this represents within Jungian interpeations an unusually early recionciation with his animus consistent with one who though inexperienced, is unusually enlightend as an individual. This "son of man" archtype of innocence combined with divinity being envoked is often tipified in the image of Christ as the divine child or Krishnu casting out his devious uncle in Hinduism. But that is neither here nor there for the purposes of my main point, merely a significant mythlogical signifier I though better brought to light.

_Returning to the recounting of the significant applications a secound comes to mind easily, being the boy's transformtion into a Fuuma shuriken in the fight againts Zabuza during the Land of Waves arc. This is important for three reasons in my hypothesis:_

_He was morphologically diffrerent from a human form, including having a hole where his torso would have been in an illusion and a different mass than his normal body. He was able to be used as a weapon in this form._

_He was for a significant period of time an inanimate object with no biological functions._

_He remained aware despite not having a physical mind, even being able to disengage the technique at will._

_The fact that the shuriken-Naruto was able to be weilded as a weapon is the only thing that signifiacantly indicates that this was more than an illusion. Without the fact, it is quite likely that he merely disgused himself, making all of my suppositons collapse like a house of cards. But it being the case that he replicated the mass and shape of a ninja tool well enough to be used as an accurate projectile, it is a safe assumption that if he didn't actully turn his flesh into steel, then he at least faked it physically. Apossibility for the effect was that he merely stored his body in a pocket dimension (think summoning scroll) while creating an chakr construct a la shadow clone jutsu that served as a stand in until he released it and his body._

_His maintaining cociousness stipulates that he somehow seperated his body and mind when he changed, at least enough to perseve the right time to return to living tissues, if one works under the hypothesis that he converted his body. The other alternative, that of the chakra-construct, mere ly requires that the shuriken shape of the stand in act as a sort of two-way mirror, allowing him to see out through a dimesional bridge point that really needs to be large enough to allow light in for him to see._

_When compaired to the later relpication fo the puppy Akumaru, it is clear that through either method compaired to the complexities of this task it was child's play._

I know that my description of this subject may seem unnecessarily complicated for such a simple act, and for that I would apologize save my belief that all this is pertinent information. I also wish to state that my opinions are not unsupported in the fanfiction community. Though as a reference source it is unreliable, it does serve as a good medium for interpretation. I give my thanks to Desaix for his story Training for the Job,and to Perfect Lionheart for his story Chunin Exam Day, both of which collaborate my hypothesis and served to help shape my conclusions.


End file.
